Tuesday, July 27, 2010

RINE Research Journal 8: Teen Pregnancy

This article explores the relationship between various factors and the decision by a pregnant teenager to either abort or carry her baby to term. Interestingly, the article reports a correlation between a student's achievement levels and the student's decision-making. Those with higher achievement in school were more likely to abort, while students with low achievement were more likely to keep their baby (Evans, 2004, p. 32).

The survey revealed a number of associations between factors such as living arrangements, socio-economic status, cultural and linguistic background, religious beliefs, school achievement, age of the student at the time of the pregnancy, as well as geographical placement and aspirations, and the decision to terminate or continue the pregnancy.

For teachers, the most important factor, I feel, is the student's attachment to their schooling. Those with higher achievement levels, or higher aspirations for the future such as the hopes of completing Year 12 or entering tertiary studies, were more likely to terminate their pregnancy than students who were ambivalent towards their studies (Evans, 2004, pp. 32-36).

Source:
Evans, Ann. Education and the resolution of teenage pregnancy in Australia [Paper in: Symposium on Women's Health, Hunt, Lynne and McNamarra, Beverly (eds).] [online]. Health Sociology Review, v.13, no.1, Sept 2004: 27-42.

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